"To be honest, I've been through so much of Gareth talk over the last month that I honestly have completely blocked it out," he said.

"I've been in a pretty tough place with all these comments and having to answer for owners, so I'd rather not say much about that.

"Obviously, the fans are hurting from it. It's never nice to have those comments at you. But as players we've decided we're not going to get involved in that, we're not going to talk about it. The less said, the better for the playing group."

Durante appealed to Phoenix fans to support the team when they most needed it.